


Fifteen Years in the Blink of an Eye

by KitschKit



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, F/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-06
Updated: 2016-04-06
Packaged: 2018-05-31 14:56:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6474814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KitschKit/pseuds/KitschKit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aerith Faremis meets Sephiroth in the labs of ShinRa.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fifteen Years in the Blink of an Eye

Aerith Faremis watches her mother with exasperation. She's young, only five years old, but she's not stupid. She knows she steps in often and volunteers information she'd rather not, if only to keep Professor Hojo away from her. She watches her try to do the same for another child, a boy that's only a little older than herself. The professor gets very angry when her mother tries to interfere, she thinks with a dark satisfaction. Whatever that man has done to the boy, continues to do, the Planet doesn't like it. 'Calamity's son' it whispers to her, but she doesn't care about that. Instead she thinks she'd rather have someone to talk with.

She manages to get away from the various doctors and scientists that watch her one day, to sneak a peek at this boy as he passes by her room's windows. He's very beautiful in a way that she knows isn't human, just like she isn't. She taps on the glass and he turns to her, stares at her with those sickly green slitted eyes, and she stares back with her own rich green eyes. She can't hear him, but she knows he's asking the scientist he's with who she is, and she waves as he's made to walk again. He knows she's there and that's what's important.

Sometime later, she's let out of her rooms with her mother, and when she asks why, Ifalna says she caught the attention of the boy. They meet with him in a different room, one with mirrored windows. She can't see the scientists around her, but she can feel them around her, watching the three of them. She makes a face and ignores them, turning to the boy instead. She sticks out her hand, because her mother says that it's good manners, but he stares at it and her in confusion.

"You're supposed to shake it, silly." He looks offended that she called him silly, but he takes her hand very lightly and shakes. Aerith grins at him and he looks so lost that Ifalna wants to cry. "You're very pretty, did you know?"

"Some of the scientists have said as much. I don't think they mean it the same way." Aerith can feel her mother's anger behind, but she knows what he means, because she's heard the same things about her mother, heard what should happen to her own person when she's older. The people here don't have any morals. "Professor Gast used to say that I was going to grow up very beautiful and I shouldn't let it get to my head." 

"Professor Gast?" She tilts her head, the name sounds very familiar, and she knows it's someone Professor Hojo hates and takes pride in defeating. Behind her, she can feel her mother's sorrow, even as she tries to stifle her cry. Both children turn to look at her. "Mother?"

"He was my favorite of any of the scientists. He was the best." His eyes seem to pierce Ifalna's heart and she nods with a watery smile.

"He was the best. He tried very hard to protect Aerith and I." He stares at her a little longer, and she knows he picked up what she didn't say. He seems a little upset as he turns back to her daughter.

Aerith has taken it upon herself to change topics and drags him to a table with paper and pencils. She gently shoves him to the floor and settles herself in his lap, chattering away at him. Ifalna thinks that Sephiroth isn't sure what to do with her, but he responds to her after a while, and picks up paper to start drawing himself.

* * *

 Aerith is six and still in the labs with her mother, although she is often allowed to see Sephiroth. The older boy is busier than usual, and she hasn't seen him in several days. Her mother is in a bad mood, withdrawn and angry, but she figures out why by herself. She can hear him through the Planet, hears it cry out as the boy is injected with its blood and she waits until the Planet quiets before she asks scientists if she can see him. They tell her no before scurrying off, but Aerith is small and quick and she follows them to the source of their problems.

Sephiroth is struggling on a table, his discomfort is obvious, and he isn't doing well. Aerith doesn't care about any of them as she runs over, ignores all of their grabby hands until she makes it to the table.

"It's okay Sephiroth, I'm here. I'll make it better." She puts her hands around his face and green pulses around her hands as she tries to soothe him. He quiets down quickly enough, and the doctors leave her there, curled up with her friend. Hojo isn't happy, but he isn't angry either, just hems and jots down notes in a little book. 

Hojo starts to bring her around when it's time for Sephiroth to get the Planet's blood, lets her lay next to the only other family she has in the world, and soothe away his pains. She can never quite get the real problem out of him, she's not strong enough for that, but she tries anyways.

* * *

Aerith is seven when Sephiroth leaves the labs for good. He's twelve and sent off to fight in a war he has no business being in. Aerith and Ifalna are both angry, and her mother is no comfort for the pain she feels at the thought of her friend being hurt.

Aerith is still seven when her mother breaks her out of the labs. She's weak from whatever experiment Hojo has done to her, and she collapses outside of a train station. A woman finds them both, takes them to her home, and Aerith tries her best to heal her mother. She isn't well by a long shot, but her mother isn't dead either, and that's what matters to her.

The woman's name is Elmyra Gainsborough, and she's very kind. Aerith is wary of her at first, but before long, she chats happily, helped by the woman trying to heal her mother. She tells her that they can stay with her for as long as they need.

Elmyra is surprised when Aerith asks about the war, but she does her best to her about it. She talks about her husband and how she worries for him, and she feels her heart fill with warmth for the little girl when she tells her that Sephiroth will keep him safe.

Her husband comes home a few days later, and together they help Ifalna heal. Aerith is quick to ask if he has contact with Sephiroth, and asks if he can deliver a letter. He isn't going back anytime soon, but he says he'll send the man a letter. She shakes her head and thanks him anyway. She doesn't want the letter to be read by anyone else.

* * *

Aerith is eight when her mother is finally well enough to move around and teach her again. Elmyra tells them that she never had any family of her own, so she'd be happy to pass them off as just that. Ifalna thanks her and takes her up on the offer. Suddenly Aerith has a family and she is very excited at the prospect. Elmyra's husband goes off again to the war, takes Aerith's letter with him too. 

She hopes Sephiroth is doing well.

* * *

 Aerith is nine when the war first impacts her. She walks up to Elmyra and lays a hand on hers and apologizes for her loss. She doesn't believe her. A few days later the letter comes, and Ifalna stays up with the woman as she cries.

Now that loss has hit, it occurs to Aerith that this could happen to Sephiroth too, and for the first time in ages she cries.

* * *

At ten, Aerith is allowed to wander outside. Not very far, and not for long, but she's finally allowed outside by herself.

Ifalna and Elmyra take her to the Wall Market, and she wanders around, looking at wares. She makes sure that both women can see her, they're paranoid about her safety and for good reason. She stops at a stall with various items, the shine of materia catching her eye. 

She almost laughs when the merchant offers to sell her a Restore materia, but she gets distracted by a pretty velvet pouch. The merchant smirks and tells her that there's seeds inside, and Aerith wants nothing more than to have these.

Elmyra walks by and stops short, she's never seen Aerith look at something with that intensity before, and she hands over the gil to get the girl what she wants.  
Before long, there are pots inside the house with green sprouts, and everyone is pleased by the greenery.

* * *

 Aerith is eleven when she wanders into the church for the first time. It's beautiful and dusty and there is a hole in floor where the dirt shows. She knows instantly that this is the place where her flowers will grow.

Elmyra is surprised when Aerith takes the plants out of the pots and into the dirt. Ifalna laughs at her shock when the flowers flourish and continue to spread around until the dirt is covered with green and yellow and white.

* * *

She's twelve when her mother finally allows her to start selling her flowers. Ifalna is busy playing assistant to a slum doctor while Elmyra tends to the house and sells her baked goods, so Aerith is very excited to be able to contribute. Her flowers are very popular, and more than one person comments that they'd be a hit above plate, but she knows that her reach is limited and there's no point in asking if she can go.

* * *

At thirteen, a man comes up to her, one she doesn't recognize. He's not much older in appearance than her mother, and his eyes are kind. He looks at her flowers with interest and asks if she grew them herself. She shakes her head no, but his eyes are twinkling and he picks her up and spins her round before setting her down and apologizing.

The man introduces himself as Gast. He explains that Hojo shot him and that someone found him before he died, and it took him a long time before he managed to heal. He asks her if her mother is around and she hesitantly nods and leads him home. She remembers conversations with Sephiroth about the man, and thinks that it should be okay.

She doesn't expect the tearful reunion that awaits her when she does bring the man home. Ifalna takes one look at him and drops what she's doing, embracing the man tightly and crying. He strokes her hair and returns the embrace, quietly explaining his survival to her. Once she's quieted, her mother introduces the man as her father. Aerith isn't really surprised.

They add on another room to the house, and Ifalna and Gast move into it.

* * *

When Aerith is fourteen, she sneaks up above plate. She has her basket of flowers with her, and she is completely overwhelmed by the difference between the topside and the slums. A boy runs into her and she drops her basket, though luckily no flowers spill.

"Sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going at all!! Say do you know where the ShinRa building is? Everyone looks waaaay too busy to tell me anything, and I've got to get to the SOLDIER tryouts!" He bounces a bit on his heels, then bends down to scoop up her basket and hands it over. 

She points the way to the building and he thanks her and speeds off.

"Name's Zack by the way! Hopefully we'll bump into each other again!" He's cute she thinks, like a puppy. But he's nowhere near as beautiful as the SOLDIER she wants to talk to.

Her flowers run out surprisingly quick, the last of them bought by a large burly man with glowing eyes. 

"Excuse me...but...do you know Sephiroth? Could you give him one for me please? Tell him...tell him it's from a friend." The man smiles at her and promises to do so. He can tell she's not just a fan.

* * *

At fifteen, her father gets her a PHS. She knows that he knows she goes above plate sometimes, but the sky scares her a little, so she usually stays below.

Aerith bumps into Zack again, while he's on a mission to clear out a nest of monsters in the slums. She exchanges numbers with him and they get lunch when he finishes. She listens to him talk about training with a smile, laughing when he talks about his mentor, Angeal, lecturing him. Her laughter is cut short when he mentions that Angeal is friends with Sephiroth. She asks more about what kind of man his mentor is, and Zack jokingly tells her to join his fan club if she wants to know more before launching into a story that will tell her just that.

When they part, she's apart of four different SOLDIER fan clubs. She pays the most attention to Silver Elite, smiling at the picture of Sephiroth with a flower in his hair.

* * *

 Aerith is sixteen when she learns her father is infiltrating ShinRa. He gathers resources and contacts, and suddenly he's gone from her life just as quickly as he entered it. She knows he's fine, she can feel him still alive, but she's not pleased. Her mother leaves with him, and she's furious that she isn't included in their plans. Elmyra tries to comfort her, but it does nothing to soothe her. 

She feels hurt at being left out and the thought of her family being in danger while she can do nothing about it makes her want to scream. She's sixteen and angry, so instead of doing the smart thing and waiting patiently for her parents to come home, she calls Zack and meets him above plate. 

He's in no hurry to go anywhere when she arrives, originally he was supposed to go see his mentor, but Sephiroth had arrived. Angeal and his childhood friend Genesis are welcoming the General back.

Aerith gets a look on her face that gives Zack a bad feeling, and then she's begging him to get her in on this meeting. Zack tries to tell her no, but she's very cute with that pout on her face and those too green eyes, so he gives in.

He sneaks her into the ShinRa building, up to the SOLDIER floors, and into the observation room of a simulation room. The three are already sparring inside, and Aerith finds herself glued to the sight before her.

She hasn't seen Sephiroth since he was twelve, and the man before her now is much different. He moves with such grace and skill, it takes her breath away. She feels so inadequate suddenly, and then it hits her where she is and how wrong it is that she's inside the building. She runs.

* * *

 Aerith is seventeen when the ShinRa she knows is destroyed. Professor Hojo and Hollander are put away for life, their crimes against man and nature make sure of their inevitable demise The Turk, Vincent Valentine is unearthed, as is a scientist encased in mako crystal. Both are brought to ShinRa. Rufus ShinRa and Lazard Duesericus take over as the president and vice president. Her father is reinstated as the head of the science department, Reeve Tuesti and Veld are the only other two department heads that remain of the originals. Cid Highwind takes over for Palmer, Valentine takes over for Scarlet, and three top SOLDIER Firsts take over for Heidigger and Lazard. 

ShinRa brings in scientists from Cosmo Canyon and makes efforts to shift from mako energy to renewable green energy. Ifalna and a man named Bugenhagen lead efforts to renew the soil around Midgar. For the first time in her life, Aerith doesn't have to hide, and she is absolutely terrified at the change. Instead of resurfacing in the world, she stays with Elmyra and hides away.

* * *

 Aerith is eighteen when her mother convinces her to join them. She joins the teams just outside Midgar, using her knowledge of the Planet to help renew the earth around them. She meets a creature by the name of Nanaki, and they become fast friends.

The two of them are very quick to start their own little sufficient greenhouse using materia and their connection to the Planet. It's not long until there are more popping up, and she can hear the Planet's happy whispering in her ear. 

* * *

At nineteen, Aerith and Nanaki are almost regarded as heroes among their team. The greenhouses are successful, and in two short years, the earth surrounding the city is starting to become healthy. The war with Wutai officially ends, and instead an alliance is formed with Neo ShinRa. Wutai shares some of it's green technology, and they do the same. 

Aerith isn't tired of working in the sun, but Nanaki can manage without her. She leaves the rest to her mother instead, and goes to the labs to help Reeve and her father create better tech to help the Lifestream rather than destroy it.

* * *

 Aerith is twenty when she finally meets Sephiroth again. It's been fifteen years since she first met him, and thirteen since she last spoke to him. Her brown hair is up high in a ponytail, her blue and white ensemble devoid of dirt for once, Nanaki by her side as she laughs at something the lion-like creature has said. 

Zack bounces up to her and asks her to join him and his little buddy, a cute shy blond with eyes as blue as the sky she was once so afraid of. She thinks nothing of it and agrees, pets her friend goodbye as he huffs, tail waving happily. 

Cloud Strife, it turns out, is a nineteen year old SOLDIER Third, and Zack's boyfriend. She smiles at that, wondering teasingly if that means she won't get her flower cart anymore. She and Cloud both laugh at Zack's loud antics and before she knows it, she's in an apartment with two other SOLDIERs. 

She remembers selling flowers to Angeal, and she's kept enough with the fan clubs that she knows who Genesis is. She doesn't have to hide anymore, but she still feels nervous around them, and more than a little trapped. There's no way for her to politely get away, and she knows that with those two, Sephiroth is sure to be coming. 

Aerith is beyond nervous, her stomach is in knots and her palms are clammy, even as she makes small talk with the others. Angeal is asking about her flowers and she's slowly starting to relax when the door opens and Sephiroth walks in.

His silver hair is as long as she remembers, the sun shining off it through the window. His face is all angles, his cheekbones high and defined. His eyes don't look nearly as sick as they used to, not with Hojo locked away and unable to get to him. He's more stunning than Aerith could ever imagine, and she almost forgets to breath.

His brows furrow as he looks at her, and she stands up and walks over to him. She takes a deep breath and schools her expression into a bright smile, even though she wants to run. She sticks out her hand and his mouth twitches as he stares at it. "You're supposed to shake it, silly." He does.


End file.
